Flower Petals
by The Hark-ness monster
Summary: Aang and Mai kiss? lol This is just a little story i decided to write while writing my Zutara fanfiction. It was originally going to be a one shot but it turned out to be alot longer. I hope you enjoy this interesting pairing ;D
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been a week since Zuko broke up with her and Mai was moping around even more than usual. As she lay in her room staring at the ceiling, she couldn't help but think about her relationship with Zuko. He hadn't told her why he left her so she was stuck blaming herself.

Mai sighed and sat up on the edge of her bed. She didn't even know what to do with herself. Finally, she determined that the best thing for her right now was just to get some fresh air and something to get her mind of Zuko.

She headed out to the garden courtyard and sat down on a bench by the pond. She envied the turtle ducks, swimming happily along the surface of the water. It was as if they were mocking her. She picked a red petaled flower that was growing near the leg of the bench and looked at is with sad eyes. Plucking each rosy petal, she thought to herself; _he loves me, he loves me not_ as the drifted from her hand onto the glassy surface of the water.

* * *

For the first time in weeks, Avatar Aang didn't have anything to do. After firelord Ozai had been defeated, Aang had had to attend meetings, peace councils, and parties all while attempting to hold up his relationship with his girlfriend, Katara.

Well, three weeks after all the excitement, there weren't as many meetings, councils or parties to attend and Katara had recently broken up with him.

He sighed as he walked through the doors to the garden. He was just passing through, even though he wasn't quite sure where he was going, but something stopped him. Over by the pond, where the turtle ducks swam, sat a very sullen figure. It was Mai, Zuko's recent ex-girlfriend.

Aang wasn't exactly close friends with her but he knew her well enough to know that she looked more depressed than usual.

_Sounds like a job for the avatar, _Aang though as he smiled to himself. _Spreading peace, love and happiness to everyone._ He walked over to the raven haired girl.

"Hey Mai. Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, hey Aang." She threw a flower stem, stripped of it's petals into the water. Aang observed the naked stem and red petals floating around it. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. That's the problem. I haven't done anything with myself since Zuko broke up with me."

"Well, sounds like your problem is the exact opposite of mine. Today is the first day in weeks that I've had time to do nothing." He smiled at her but she just continued to stare into the water.

"You know what? Come with me." He stood.

Mai gave him a confused look. "Why?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her up from the bench. "Aang, what are you doing?" She said and pulled her hand back in protest.

"We're going out."

Before they left the palace Aang insisted on grabbing a hat from his room to wear so no one around town would recognize him. Even though he was no longer wanted by the firelord, he didn't want anyone to recognize him and ruin their trip into town.

"So, how do I look?" Aang smiled a big, cheesy grin.

"…fabulous…" Mai's expression and tone of voice didn't change at all.

He sighed, "Just follow me." He led her out of the palace and into the busy city streets.

"So, what do you like to do?" Aang asked Mai as he walked beside her.

Mai's arms were crossed and her face was fixed in her usual bored expression. "Nothing," she answered. Aang gave her a skeptical look. She sighed, giving in. "I guess I like to shop for weapons…"

_This is going to be harder than I thought_ Aang said to himself.

"But I heard there was a fire bending show in town that might be interesting," she added.

"Great! We'll star there!" He grabbed her by the arm and took off, dragging the reluctant girl behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mai sat alone for the time being in the bleachers around the stage as people filed in waiting for the fire bending show to start. Aang had run off, once again, to find the concessions stand.

_That kid is crazy._ She thought to herself. _How can such a small person talk so loud? And so fast? _She had always thought of Aang as spontaneous and energetic, and her day with him had confirmed her suspicions. He was the complete opposite of herself, but, strangely, it was his eccentric qualities that had made her day so interesting. She hadn't really made any previous effort to befriend the avatar because she feared if she did she would end up strangling him, but he wasn't so bad. Infact, she found his company quite enjoyable

"Here. I got us some fire flakes," Aang said, handing her a red paper box.

"Thanks." She tried not to sound too thrilled.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A man said in a booming voice as he came onto the stage. "Now is moment you've been waiting for. Prepare to be amazed, surprised and dazzled by…the Spirits of the Sun!" Immediately, the curtain went up in flames and three figures wearing ornate masks emerged, performing flips, spins and rolls as the burning fabric fell away.

Aang clapped and cheered along with all the other spectators but Mai simply sat back eating her fireflakes and smiling secretly at the young boys excitement.

The show continued as the three firebenders swung, jumped, danced and threw each other about the stage, each stunt incorporating clean, controlled firebending moves. It was easily the best firebending show Mai had ever seen.

The performance ended with the Spirits of the Sun hurling streams of multicolored flames out above the heads of the audience and up into the sky. The three mysterious performers bowed and the crowd erupted into cheers and applause. They received a standing ovation which even Mai participated in, but she didn't cheer. That would have destroyed her reputation.

As the crowd began to clear out, Mai decided to return the favor to Aang.

"So, Aang, did you have anything you wanted to do?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually I wanted to see the wishing fountains." he replied.

"Alright, follow me. I know exactly where they are."

The wishing fountains were a beautiful combination of flowing water and foliage to create a garden-like atmosphere right near the central marketplace. Aang was in awe when he saw the structure.

It was a hexagonal stone building with arcs on each face. Each wall was crawling with beautiful green vines. An enormous cherry tree grew on the outside of the walls. Its trunk was pressed against the stone so the branches, adorned with tiny pink leaves, covered the open top of the structure.

As Mai led him through one of the arcs, he was able to catch her smiling. He wasn't quite sure if her grin was caused by the look on his face or the beauty of the fountains but he didn't really care. As long as she was smiling, he knew he was doing his job. _She really does have a pretty smile. She should do it more often…_

Mai stepped up to one of the three elaborately decorated fountains in the middle of the vine covered structure. Aang followed, stepping up to the water next to her.

"Wow!" Aang said, gazing into the clear, rippling liquid. "I can't believe Firelord Ozai closed these down during the war."

"I know," Mai said. "He closed them because he didn't want people coming in, making wishes and having hoped and dreams. And also, water is the natural enemy of fire so he said it was "unfaithful to the homeland" to keep them. Luckily, he didn't destroy them completely."

"Yeah. I'm sure glad he didn't. And it looks like everyone else here is too." Aang observed the other people surrounding the fountains. Many people were just passing through, they were right near the market, the busiest part of the city, but there were also people stopping, admiring the fountains, making wishes. There were also people sitting on the benches around the inside and outside of the stone walls. There was even a painter creating a masterpiece of the beautiful stone hall.

Mai plucked one of the many cherry blossom petals floating in the water, held it between both hands close to her heart and closed her eyes. When she opened them she turned to Aang.

"Now it's your turn," she said. Aang looked at her strangely. "That's how you make a wish," she explained. "Go on. Take a petal."

Aang followed her instructions then did as she had. Eyes closed, fist holding his petal close to his chest, he made his wish. He wished that both of them would quickly move on from their past lovers. He did his best to hide it, but his breakup with Katara had been brutal for him and he could tell Mai wasn't taking hers well either.

He just wanted there to be no more pain, no more heartache…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"What did you wish for?" Aang asked Mai.

"Oh…ummm…nothing." Her pale cheeks turned a rosy pink and she avoided his eyes by looking at the ground. "It's bad luck to tell someone your wish," she said making up an excuse.

"Oh come on," Aang said. "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

A small smile surfaced on her face. "Alright. But you have to go first," she added quickly.

Aang sighed. "Fine…I wished I was a pink fire breathing crocadillo."

Silence. The Mai burst out laughing much to Aang's surprise. He had hoped his jest would have sparked a smile at best but the sound of her laughter made his heart skip a beat.

"That's the most ridiculous wish I've ever heard!" she told him.

"Oh, well I'm glad it amused you," he said fabrication an offended tone. "Thanks for making fun of my hopes and dreams."

Mai smiled a big, pure white smile at him and in an instant, before they even knew what was happening, their lips met in a kiss.

It wasn't clear who kissed who, but when both of them realized what had occurred, the kiss was over as quickly as it had begun.

"What was that for?" Aang asked, slightly shocked.

"What are you asking me for? You're the one who kissed me!" Mai argued.

"No, you kissed me."

"Alright, we kissed _each other_…but why?"

"Well, your smile is beautiful. You should do it more often. And you laugh…surprised me," Aang answered. "Now why did you kiss me?"

"Because you made me laugh. I haven't truly laughed in what feels like years. Thank you."

They now became aware of all the stares they were getting. It wasn't that strange at first, they were just another couple sharing a kiss, but the fact that they were arguing about it drew a little more attention.

Aang took Mai's hand and drew her away from the fountains. This time, as Aang led her through the buys streets, Mai did not protest against him holding her hand.

They found refuge from on looking eyes in a meadow beside the path out of the city. Mai hung her head, fiddling with a wildflower she'd plucked from its roots. Aang looked over at the girl, but she did not meet his gaze. Awkward silence fell over them. He was about to speak but she beat him to it.

"So what happens now?" She asked gently pulling petals from the flower like she had that morning by the pond.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked. He knew what she was talking about, he just wanted to get her to open up.

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Aang's plan clearly hadn't worked.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," the boy replied. "Did what happen back there even change anything between us?"

Only now did the girl turn from her half stripped flower to look up at him. "I hope so." She leaned in a kissed the young avatar gently on the lips. He kissed her back.

When they pulled away, the silence between them was no longer awkward; it was just peaceful as they both smiled to themselves.

Mai finished picking the petals of the small daisy, but this time, when she plucked the last petal, she said in her mind; he loves me. And that was the difference between the pure white daisy and the blood red flower from the pond.


End file.
